Gluten Free Restaurants

Today I’m excited to tell you about a gluten-free bakery that not only offers amazingly delicious gluten-free products, but one that I frequently get to visit as they are located right here in the beautiful Bay Area.

Mariposa’s gluten-free kitchen can be found in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland. At this location is also their first retail bakeshop. Luckily for both San Franciscans and tourists headed to this amazing city, Mariposa also has a store in the Ferry Terminal Building where customers can expect to find all sorts of yummy breads and hand-crafted goodies.

Gluten-free eaters come in all shapes, sizes and carrying themselves with their own behaviors, which is an umbrella statement that can also be applied to stores and restaurants that service gluten-free foods. Here’s why: it’s hard to deny and not notice the emergence of new gluten-free options popping up each day, whether it’s in big grocery stores, small fast food joints or dine-in restaurants, but not all servicers of gluten-free menu options abide by the same protocol.

Some reports estimate that the gluten-free industry is worth $6.3 billion per year and is continuing on an upswing. This demand was propelled by gluten-free enthusiasts toward large businesses like Dominos and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro to small business like Fresh Brothers in an effort to join progressive forces throughout the gluten-free industry.

Though as some of you might know, Dominos and other newcomers that offer gluten-free alternatives conduct their gluten-free processes in a liberal manner that is not safe for people with Celiac disease due to high chances of cross-contamination. But there are places that are doing it in a more kosher manner.

Some things in the gluten-free world have really perplexed us over the years. Like Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s declarations throughout her book that celiac disease is an allergy. Or Starbucks’ recent decision to trumpet the addition of a new gluten-free offering followed, only weeks later, by a decision to remove said gluten-free offering with no more than a 140 character announcement via Twitter.

As perplexing as these decisions may sound to you, we found Sweetwater Tavern’s “Low Gluten Menu” equally bizarre.

Every town, big or small, seems to have a Chinese restaurant these days. Usually locally or family owned, these restaurants serve up familiar dishes in those nostalgic, white rectangular take-out boxes. The food itself, however, varies widely; some places serve deliciously prepared entrees. Others gain a notoriety for food poisoning and low standards of quality.

For such a ubiquitous type of cuisine, I expected there to be many name-brand chains where people could come to expect the same, consistent dishes and flavors served at a steady, high quality. But alas, P.F. Chang’s, listed in our restaurant guide, is among the very few major names in Chinese cuisine to open multiple, national restaurants.

And the restaurant shines as its gluten-free menu provides customers with many great options to choose from.

Most of us that live in the U.S. are aware that this country is behind many other countries in terms of gluten-free options – both dining and products. In Australia, there is an amazing allergen food show that puts shows held in the U.S. to shame. And there have been some pretty amazing gluten-free and allergen events held here in the last few years. The presence of that Australian show is probably related to the fact that it’s “normal” for pizza places there to offer gluten-free pizza. When I first heard Dr. Peter Green talk about that fact in a radio interview, I almost fell off my chair.

Well, now the folks in New Zealand have something to celebrate in terms of gluten-free options anyway. Domino’ s Pizza, one of the largest pizza chains in the world, announced that they will offer 13 varieties of gluten-free pizzas in their New Zealand locations. This news comes to us via FoodWeek.com. Wow! Can you imagine if that happened in the U.S.? I actually can not – it would seem too unreal. We ordered pizza from a local place when I ate gluten and didn’t care much for Domino’s. Even so, if the company introduced gluten-free pizza here, I’d be the first in line to check it out! I love Erin’s take on this interesting news on GutenFreeFun. I also agree with her that it would likely be quite a while before something that exciting happened here in the states.

One of the things I’ve always tried to do is let people that can eat gluten know how amazing the food we eat is. It takes a while (and a lot of wasted money!) to find the items you love, but they are out there for the enjoying. Want a powdered doughnut? Try the version from Celiac Specialties. Don’t like plain rice pasta? Try imported corn versions from Italy or blends from companies like Dr. Schar. Need a gluten-free cheese cracker that tastes as good as or better than the gluten versions – check out The Grainless Baker version.

I know some gluten eaters that now eat some gluten-free items, just because they love the taste of them. The more people eating gluten-free – even just a few things – the better for us. The truth is that we are a relatively small market overall and will likely never make up the majority of food shoppers. Therefore, it’s important that people that can eat gluten also buy some gluten-free items. Certainly, the cost will keep many of them away, but some people can afford the food and when that’s the case, it’s a good idea to introduce them to some amazingly tasty products.

As sales of gluten-free specialty items rise, more companies decide to jump into the gluten-free game. You never know when a company like Domino’s decides it’s financially feasible to offer gluten-free pizzas in the U.S. If that’s something that would interest you, make sure and let the company know about it. This is the e-mail contact form for the U.S. headquarters. I could not locate a toll free phone number on the website. While we’re wishing and hoping for the new pizza here in America, the Restaurant Guide has already listed 120 national and regional chain restaurants with gluten-free options. And if you’re reading this from New Zealand – enjoy the gluten-free pizza from Domino’s!